Maat Magick: A Guide to Self-Initiation

by Nema, Kenneth Grant (Introduction)

Magick transcends the ability of organized religions to unite the soul with God, as it is an individual endeavor or direct experience, unmediated by an official priesthood, and independent of dogma, doctrine, and dependency on faith. Magick's initiations provide you with experience—not hearsay—and with knowledge instead of faith. Maat Magick is a form of, and a continuation of, Thelemic Magick. Based on the formula of Love under Will, Thelema was presented to the world by Aleister Crowley in the first half of the 20th century; its purpose—to destroy the corruption and decay brought about by the old formula of the Dying God. Maat Magick provides the next step, transforming the ashes and rubble of that destruction into a world society built on a new type of human. The rituals of Maat magick are designed for the individual, though they may be adapted for group work. Nema leads the reader from the familiarity of physical reality through the uncharted transphysical realm and into truths that defy description. Maat Magick shows that you are your own best source for guidance and wisdom!

Genres: Magick, Occult, Thelema, Spirituality

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Maggie Ingalls (B.A., English & Journalism, Mount St. Joseph University), born Margaret E. Cook and better known by the craft name Nema or the pen name Nema Andahadna, was an American occultist and ceremonial magician.

She developed her own system called Maat Magick with the aim of transforming the human race, and in 1979 co-founded the Horus-Maat Lodge.

Reviews

[Gori Suture · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an interesting read, though I do not think it is an effective guide for self-initiation. You need to be pretty well versed in alchemical symbolism to understand the author. Her rituals seem to be effective, but her initiation ritual is in the middle of the book. The first half of the book is dedicated to the author’s interpretation of the tree of life. The title is further misleading, in that it doesn’t focus on Egyptian magic, but rather on the concept of balance associated with Maat. It is an attempt to make western magic more symmetrical, which I applaud, but it is just lacking in detail, organization, and coherence.

[Damien · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very little of this book is original, and what is original is mostly derivative and unimpressive. Although Nema claims that the "greatest single influence on Maat Magick is Kenneth Grant," more than 3/4 of the ideas in this book were taken directly from the works of Crowley, and even paraphrased very poorly at that. To her credit, she gives Crowley due credit often enough, but she mostly gives credit to the Maat current much of what was originally his ideas. While she often draws heavily on Thelemic terminology, her preferred personal omissions and substitutions hardly seem an improvement. Quite the opposite, the Thelema in her Maat Magick comes off more like a degradation rather than a progression or an expansion. While I think her rituals and philosophy are perfectly fine for HER, the Maatian cult that has followed is not one that interests me in the slightest. While I admire her attempts to draw more attention to environmental issues, it is too easy to suspect that this is only due to the trends of the times the book was written in (the "environmental awareness" of the 90s).

[Teleri · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was my pleasure to have taken Dedication at Lady Nema's hand. Her book is excellent & thought provoking. I wish I hadn't lost my autographed copy!

[Mitchell Stern · Rating 5 out of 5]

The practice Nema outlines here builds upon the writings of Crowley and offers up clarity about some topics that I had been confused by.

[Mike Lovato · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. As a long-time follower of Crowley I approve of this book and the exercises given in it. I see great resemblance in psychology explained in a occultist magical manner. Each chapter is a sephiroth of the tree of life. This books lightly teaches qabalah, tarot and other spiritual systems while explaining each realm of development of the human being. Great book for those interested in thelema, hermeticism and Crowley in general

[Silverose · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and helpful perspective on understanding the sephiroth of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. Gets a bit off tangent with information received via astral travel, but the rest is on target.

[Jim Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and very positive text on initiation from Malkuth to Kether. I found it inspiring.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The entire book is quite wonderful and very useful. I especially like the article on The Forgotten Ones.... :)